The Little Merman
by aquafizzy10
Summary: "You want… my voice?" asked Percy, fingers lightly scraping over the skin of his throat. He gulped when Hades grinned down at him, "But how will I—" "You'll have your looks," he pressed, drifting closer through the shadows of the underwater cavern, "your pretty face. The princess is a beautiful woman… surely she's worth it?" Percy bit his lip, then nodded, "Yes… yes, Annabeth is."
1. Prologue

"Ahem," said the small, yellow seahorse nervously, gaze skipping across the crowd. "His royal highness, King Poseidon!" Despite his small body and high-pitched voice, he was heard throughout the entire hall, and looked very proud in the matter.

The king smiled and waved at those who cheered as he entered the large, detailed, underwater opera house. It was decorated with peals and the prettiest of silk blues, the curtains white with blue lace. The king much preferred this to the color humans had, as theirs were dark and slightly grim, their curtains the color of blood rather than the sea.

His dark black hair flowed behind in waves as he was pulled forward by a shell-white hippocampi, which gracefully guided the chariot his master was riding in through the space that was allowed, to their exclusive seats only royalty managed to snatch up. His skin was a deep tan, which opposed the whites and blues he was surrounded by, but most of the audience looked the same. Most of the kingdom was seated in the opera house, with the exception of few adults and most children.

The seahorse's voice droned on in the background as the crowd began to silence, the king not paying the slightest bit of attention, as he had already heard the announcements during one of the rehearsals. "And presenting the distinguished court playwright…"

Poseidon looked to his friend as he swam beside him, a bright red crab- who, he could admit, looked a bit purple when he lost his temper. He was his dear friend. They had known each other for years and were, perhaps, even distantly related in some shape or form. Despite their conflicting personalities, they got along quite well, trusting each other completely. "I'm really looking forward to this performance, Dionysus."

"Oh, _your majesty_," he replied, his tone low and just a tad bit sarcastic, "this will be the finest concert I have ever conducted. Your children- they will be… _spectacular_." A pained expression came to his face, as though the very word tasted sour in his mouth. The king was more than used to his playwright's attitude towards many of things, and had long known to ignore such matters.

"Yes, and especially my dear son."

"Yes, yes… he has the most… interesting voice," Dionysus continued, swimming away from the king as they parted ways, heading to his place behind the curtains, back stage. The king seated himself comfortably, watching the stage expectantly.

"If only he'd show up for rehearsals, once in a while…" the crab grumbled under his breath when he was sure the king couldn't hear, finding his proper place where he could see the show and nearly direct it at the same time. They were nowhere near ready, yet the king still pressed to have the show sooner than what they were prepared for.

The opera started moments later, three beautiful blonde mermaids twirling onto the wide, marble-colored stage, introducing the main actress, a brunette named Clarisse. Their voices rang like bells, and the lead's part went even more smoothly than Poseidon, and half of the audience, could have imagined. She was his niece, but fit the part despite the fact that she was tougher than half of the boys in the kingdom.

When it came for his son's introduction, however, the leading lady only faltered when he didn't suddenly come onto stage during his cue as he was supposed to. Startled, she sang her part again, nerves and anger building up inside her. Unfortunately, her partner never showed up on stage, and she would more than surely pummel his face into the cold sand with her fist, even if he was the king's son. It wasn't like her to be embarrassed, even as her best friend, Selena, assured her that she didn't look silly at all, her partner did.

Poseidon rose, the tides of the sea lighting his eyes, the water around the room shifting slightly, perhaps even heating up to match his emotions. He called out his son's name angrily, his voice booming despite the water quieting it down, "Percy! Percy! _Perseus_!"


	2. Chapter One

"Percy, wait for me…"

"Hurry up, Grover! Stop floundering around," replied Percy, twirling around gracefully to look back at his best friend. Percy was a young man, sixteen years old and completely prepared to leave and live his own life. His hair matched that of his father, ink-black and slightly curly at the ends, nearly reaching his shoulders. It was messy when wet, and even more chaotic when dry- although he never told anyone that, as being dry was practically forbidden.

His skin was paler than most of his kind, but Percy had imagined that his mother looked the same way, not that he ever knew her. He had never even seen what she looked like, and his father made it a point to never speak of her. All Percy knew was that her name was Sally, and that his stepmother disliked her extremely. He was still surprised she put up with him, even after all of this time. Perhaps it was only because his father did.

"You know I can't swim that fast," said Grover, closer than he was before but still a distance away. He was an orange fish, with brown and green flecks that shone in the sunlight. Grover was often jittery and quite terrified of whatever adventure Percy dragged him into, but he went along nonetheless, despite his parents' constant berating.

"There it is," said Percy excitedly, pointing a finger towards the old, rotting, sunken ship. "Isn't it fantastic?"

"Yeah, sure… it-it's great. Now let's get out of here, please," Grover insisted, though he still swam closer to his friend. It was a much darker part of the sea than what they were used to, and he didn't know what sort of things lurked at such depths, although he had a fairly good idea.

"You're not getting cold fins, now, are you?"

"Who, me? Percy, I was _born_ for this kind of thing… it just looks- damp in there, yeah. Damp."

Percy couldn't help but roll his eyes at his friend's constant excuses. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning when he said, "All right, I'm going inside. You can stay out here and _watch for_ _sharks_."

He quickly slipped through the porthole, bright green tale flashing in what little light there was before he was inside completely, listening to his friend with a close ear as he explored. The ship creaked as the tide shifted when he swam, and Percy turned around when he saw Grover a few feet behind him. He was a thin fish, Grover was, and Percy worried. He was much thinner than the others of his kind, but then again, so was Percy.

"Do you think there really might be sharks around?" Grover whispered as he followed Percy through the remains of the ship, careful not to touch anything at all. He was sure he saw a shadow pass on the outside, but he carefully chose to ignore it, or he would start to panic.

"Don't be such a—"

"—Percy, if you call me a guppy _one more time_—"

Percy's laugh was louder than he intended, and he covered his mouth as Grover glared at him. "Sorry, sorry. But come on, admit it. You love this just as much as I do."

"Oh yeah, I mean, I _really_ love this. Excitement, adventure, danger lurking around every corner—" Grover interrupted himself by letting out a startled yelp, catching glimpse of a skull and crashing into a pillar behind him. Percy was quick, but not quick enough, only able to pull his friend out of the way by his fin before the things around them caved in.

The two of them backed up against the wall, taking deep breaths as things began to calm. "You all right, Grover?"

"Yeah, Percy. I'm okay."

Percy was silent for a moment before his gaze caught something sparkling beneath the risen dirt and sand, which flowed freely through the no-longer-distilled water of the ship. He moved closer, despite Grover's requests.

"Shush, Grover," he said, not taking his eyes off of the object as he waved his hand at him. With his other hand, he reached at the it almost tentatively, fingertips running across the thin surface. Seeing that it wasn't much harm to him, he pulled at it, lifting it from its position under several broken pieces of glass. When he saw the whole thing, he nearly lost his breath.

"Have you ever seen anything so… _wonderful_, Grover?"

"I don't think so. What is it?"

Percy shook his head, "I don't know… But Nico might." He stuck the shiny object in the bag, which was strapped across his shoulder, moving forward and stuffing a few more things in it, as well.

There was a bang on the outside of the ship, and though Percy didn't pay it much attention, Grover certainly did. "Percy… what was that? Did you hear something?"

"Hm? Yeah, yeah, this one _is_ cool," said Percy, distracted by nothing other than a pipe.

"Percy…" Grover's tone was filled with more panic than before. He was looking between Percy and the way out.

"Grover, would you relax? Nothing is going to happen—"

"_Percy_!" Grover screamed, "Run! _Run_!"

He looked up then, catching sight of the shark that was chasing Grover through the ship. It had an amused expression, and Percy was sure it was doing something along the lines of "playing with its food." Its gaze went to him, suddenly, and felt his blood run cold.

Mentally, he cursed, stuffing several more objects in his bag before swimming faster than he had in a long while, grabbing Grover and slipping through the porthole. The shark almost got the tip of his tail, but Percy's reflexes saved him, twitching the fins out of the way of the sharks teeth before he could even mentally realize what was happening.

The shark burst through the ship, splintering the wood, and Percy threw Grover out of the way despite Grover's feeble attempts to protect him. He swam through the ruins the ship left around it, allowing the shark to chase him. In the farthest part of his attention, he knew Grover was screaming at him, but he was focused on one plan in particular.

Percy swam through a loop in an anchor, knowing the shark would full-well follow him. When it did swim through, it got stuck because of its size and lack of thinking things through, and Percy snickered under his breath. He saluted the angry, squirming shark, grinning at it before swimming back to Grover, who was staring at him with wide eyes and an open mouth, even after all this time.

"I know, I know… I'm smarter than I look."

"It's not that," Grover said quickly, "it's just…"

"Yes?" asked Percy, quirking an eyebrow.

Grover shook his head, "Yeah, yeah, you are smarter than you look."

-xxx-

The surface was beautiful, but often empty and lonely. The waves flowed, crashing against the small rocks and buoys that rose above it.

The air was warm and the sun was shining, the day calm and uneventful. When Percy and Grover broke surface, they weren't let down by the rare sight of the bright blue sky, barely a cloud in sight. It wasn't often that they could manage to sneak away from the palace and come up to the air, but when they did, it was more than worth it.

"Nico!" shouted Percy happily, catching sight of his bird-friend perching himself on a rock, a telescope in his grip. He had pale, bone-white feathers and dark shadows underneath his wings and eyes.

"Percy!" his friend shouted back in reply, lowering the telescope from his eye. "How are you?"

Instead of answering the question, Percy let his bag of things drop onto the flat rock, half of the top spilling open. "Look at all the stuff we found."

"From where?"

"A sunken ship," answered Grover proudly.

"Human stuff, huh?" Nico dropped from his ledge and peered at the bag, as though he was sure something was going to come out and bite him. Percy was getting impatient.

"Stop scuttling around and tell me what these things are."

"All right, all right, let me see…" He dug around in the bag and took out the fork Percy had his eye on, twisting it so he could get a better view in the light. "Look at this… why… this is very special, very _unusual_."

"What?" pressed Percy, placing his elbows on the scorching rock and leaning forward. Nico was used to the heat, but it seemed as though it didn't even faze through to Percy. "What is it?"

"This… is a _dinglehopper_. Humans use these to straighten their hair out, to make themselves look neat and presentable for formal occasions. Humans are all about beauty and formalities, unlike you merfolk." He had a careful look on his face, but blinked when Percy snatched it back.

"A dinglehopper…" he repeated, twisting it in his hair and laughing at the curled results.

"What about this one?" asked Grover, holding the pipe out to the bird.

Nico took it with special care, a look of awe on his face, "Ah, I haven't seen one of these in many, many years." His tone was grave and cautious, causing both Grover and Percy to pay even more attention than before. "This is a banded, bulbous snarfblat."

The two blinked, sharing a gaze with each other before looking back at him expectantly.

"Now, the snarfblat dates back to prehistoric times, when humans had hardly anything to do but stare at each other. Things got very boring very fast, so they invented _this_ to make fine music."

As Nico took it upon himself to blow into the "instrument" as an example, Percy's bright green eyes got very wide, all flush leaving his skin as he suddenly grew pale. "Music?" he voiced, though it wasn't much higher than a whisper.

"Perce, are you okay?" Grover asked, looking up at his friend worriedly.

"The concert, Grover. Oh gods, my father is going to _murder_ me." His voice was louder now, but strained as he took the pipe from scuttle, and shoved it into his bag. "Sorry Nico, I've got to go. Thank you, though." He gave the bird a small wave and ducked underwater, swimming much faster than Grover could keep up with. Percy was sure he was going to be grounded for a million, billion years, because he was stupid enough to go exploring when he had an opera to perform in.

-xxx-

The image of Percy rushing, swimming, was what lighted the bright globe. It shone brightly against the dark shadows, with the exceptions of two pairs bright yellow eyes swimming around the cavern.

"Yes, _yes_, hurry home, little prince." The voice was low and demented, thoughts spoken aloud as a result of isolation and no one else to speak to. "We wouldn't want to miss your father's celebration, now would we? Hah! Celebration _indeed_. In _my_ day, we had fantastical feasts when I lived in the palace—now look at me, banished and exiled and practically starving as I waste away, while he and his flimsy people celebrate. _Disgusting_…. Flotsam, Jetsam, I want you to keep extra close watch on the daring son of his. He may be the key to Poseidon's undoing."

The two eels slithered into the light, but they were a pale blue and very much like souls of magic. Their eyes pierced through the darkness and they were as thin as paper, slithering out into the depths of the deep.

-xxx-

**A/N: This is the first, ****_official_**** chapter! Thanks to those who reviewed. I won't be doing very many author's notes, but I just wanted to say that I'll be doing the story in progress with the movie, so that's why things may seem to be jumping everywhere. They're not, I promise. **

**Reviews are welcomed and accepted, they make me write faster, just as a side note! I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on the story, because I was very hesitant about writing this in the first place but finally gave in.**


	3. Chapter Two

"I just don't know what we're going to do with you, young man."

Percy stood in front of his father's throne almost bashfully, with his hands locked behind his back and his head bowed, black hair covering nearly half of his forehead. "I'm sorry, father," he said quietly, "I just forgot, I—"

Poseidon interrupted his son with a wave of his hand, the muscles of his arm flexing. Percy felt his throat close, making him swallow hardly. It wasn't as though he didn't get into trouble often, it was just that he always hated disappointing his father. It was one of the worst feelings to him, and that included guilt, and anger.

"As a result for your careless behavior—"

"—careless and reckless behavior—" interrupted Mr. D, who Percy had known ever since he was an infant. If he was honest with himself, Percy would say that the crab scared him at times, but that didn't stop his mouth from making a sarcastic comment around him at the most inappropriate of times.

"—the entire show was ruined. Your partner, Clarisse, is very upset with you, Percy. You will have to make it up to her."

"'Make it up to _her'_?" Mr. D quoted. "My career is ruined thanks to _him_, I am the laughing stock of the entire kingdom!"

"It wasn't his fault!" Grover said quickly, finally voicing himself. "First this, ah, shark chased us—and then we tried to but we couldn't—and, gah. Then we were safe, but then this seagall came—and then it was this, and then that—" The fish wasn't particularly good at making his thoughts vocal, but he tried, anyway.

"Seagull?" demanded Poseidon, green eyes darting between Grover and Percy. "You went to the surface, didn't you?" Grover's eyes widened when he realized his mistake, and when neither boys answered, Poseidon's voice grew louder, "_Didn't you_?"

"Nothing… happened…" Percy answered awkwardly, glancing at Grover quickly out of the corner of his eye, rubbing the back of his neck. His thick hair tangled between his fingers.

"Percy, how many times must we go through this?" his voice was exasperated, and Poseidon fell backwards into his throne, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You could have been seen by one of those barbarians, by one of those _humans_."

Percy felt an unusual surge of anger flow through him, "Father, they're _not_ barbarians!" It wasn't like him to talk back to his father, but he had been doing it more often lately, as he grew older and more rebellious.

His father scoffed, "They're dangerous. Do you think I want to see my youngest son snared by some fish-eater's hook?"

Biting the inside of his cheek to keep from spitting out far more brutal words, Percy said, instead, with a much controlled voice and tone, "I'm sixteen years old, I'm not a child anymore, and if you think for one minute that I would—"

"Don't you dare take that tone of voice with me. I am your father, and your king, and as long as you reside under my ocean, you will obey my rules!"

"If you would just listen…" Percy tried to reason, but his father was short with him. Percy could see the anger in his eyes, but tried to press forward anyway, testing his father's boundaries.

"Not another word. I am never, never to hear of you going to the surface again, do you understand me? If you do, there will be the severest of consequences when you return—_if_ you return."

Percy glared at his father for a moment, hands balling into fists as he tried to keep from shaking. Before he said another word, he promptly turned around, rushing out of the room and through the halls before matters could get worse. It was often like him to speak without thinking his words through, and he couldn't afford to speak to his own father in such a way.

Back in the throne room, Mr. D only rolled his eyes at the boy's angry, seemingly-uncontrolled response. "Teenagers. They think they know everything, don't they? You give them an inch and they swim all over you."

"Do you think I was… perhaps… too hard on him?"

"Definitely not," he replied. "If he were _my_ son, I would keep him under tight supervision. None of this, "going to the surface and whatever" nonsense." He didn't actually care very much on whether or not the boy went to the surface, as long as he wasn't killed and his king was happy. It was very rare that he ever admitted genuine care.

"You're absolutely right, Dionysus."

"Of course I am," he sighed, almost a bit dramatically.

"Percy needs constant supervision."

"Yes, of course, constant."

"Someone to… watch over him," Posiedon hinted, looking down at the crab hopefully. "Someone to keep him out of trouble."

"Oh, I couldn't agree more—"

"—and you are _just_ the crab to do it."

"I—what?" he spluttered.

Five minutes later, Mr. D was grumbling down the corridor, trying his very hardest not to curse the king down to the depths of the hell. He wondered how he even got himself into situations like this. He should be writing plays and planning parties, not tagging along after some headstrong teenager, but the king never listened to reason, even when it hit him straight in the face.

Despite his complaining, he still caught sight of Percy and Grover, looking quite suspicious as they sneaked through the halls of the palace. Mr. D had assumed the boy had run off to his room, but as he followed closely and silently behind, he realized that he was running off to somewhere much more secret.

The door to the cave was a large boulder that he barely managed to sneak through, squeezing through the tiny crack and spying on the young prince. The water was colder and more secluded, but the shock he felt was from the hundreds of human trinkets lined up on the walls.

"Percy, are you okay?" asked Grover, his voice echoing off of the layered rock walls.

"He doesn't understand," Percy said angrily, falling back against a flat rock that was solid in the floor. "He refuses to see the things the way I do. I just don't get how things like this…" he paused, twirling a chipped teacup in his hands, "could possibly be bad."

"Maybe he's just worried about you?" Grover suggested.

"Even if he is…" Percy gently placed the teacup on a shelf behind him, still laying and sighing on his rock. "I just—look at it all. I've got so much of it."

"Yeah, you do. But it's cool."

His lips quirked, almost forming a smile. "Yeah… it is cool, isn't it? I just think that seeing all of this stuff, in person, being used and new… would be even cooler, even neater."

"What do you mean?"

"I want more, Grover. But I also… I want to be up there. I want to be able to run, and lay in the sand, and—and—" he quickly rose from his spot, swimming up to some of the higher shelves, fingers gripping the edge to keep him from sinking back down.

The painting was large, and detailed, and completely foreign to him because of the flame in the center of it. He touched the flame with his finger, his eyebrows pulling forward in confusion. "What's a flame, and why does it… what's the word—burn?" He turned around, looking down at his friend, one hand still keeping him steady. "I don't want to stay here anymore, Grover—"

"—and where would you expect to go?" interrupted Mr. D, causing both Percy and Grover to gasp. Percy left his place by the painting, slowly lowering to the sand, where the crab was leaning against the boulder door with narrowed eyes and a grim expression.

"I—well—"

"And what _is_ all of this?"

Percy caught Grover's eyes for a moment before answering, "It's… it's just my, uh… collection."

"Oh," Mr. D sneered, "I see. Your _collection_. Mmm… if your father knew about this place, _oh_, he'd certainly—"

Percy's eyes widened even more, and he found himself unable to speak as a panic filled him, keeping him incredibly still and cold. Grover was able to find his voice, however, and said, "You're not going to tell him, are you?"

Snapping out of his state and coughing, Percy said, roughly, "Please. He would never understand."

Mr. D shook his head, "Maybe I won't tell him, as he would have my head as well as yours, but you certainly aren't thinking straight. If you were to go home, and never speak of this place—"

He stopped speaking as a darkness filled the cave. All three looked up, through the hole of the cave that allowed light in, and saw a ship passing on the ocean surface.

Percy's eyes lit up with a sort of uncontained excitement, and he found himself easily slipping out of the cave, through the makeshift door, despite the angry crab calling after him.


	4. Chapter Three

The sky was dark and slightly cloudy, but bright bursts of light and color boomed through the sky, momentarily setting it alight. Percy was startled, and amazed, by its beauty, and his gaze was drawn to where it was all coming from.

The ship was large, brown, and at its prime. It was in opposite condition as the sunken adventure he had before, and he found himself swimming closer, despite Grover and Mr. D following closely behind him.

The creaking and groaning of the wood didn't put him off of his course. Percy was feet away, and he even dared to get closer. Under the surface, his fingers delicately stroked the ship… and then all at once, without even thinking about what he was doing, he grabbed onto one of the ledges, and gracefully pulled himself up. Somewhere behind him, he heard Mr. D give a pained sigh, but he was too far gone to really notice.

Keeping himself up and balanced by sitting on one jutting edge and propping his elbows up on another, Percy peeked through the small opening, watching the sailors dance around in their boots. There was music, a sound that he had never heard before—human music had always interested him, but it was always Nico who had shown him things. He never saw it up close, and he found his fins tapping against the ship wall.

Percy watched, fascinated, as two men linked arms, spinning around and laughing joyously, while another watched them with a sort of pained expression and stayed back, away from the ruckus. It reminded him a bit of some of the nobles he saw in the palace, who thought they were above it all. Percy wrinkled his nose and arched his neck, looking for more.

The sound of sniffing alerted him of the animal before he had even seen it. It was white and shaggy, and seemed to have its intent of snuffing Percy out and alerting everyone of his presence. Luckily, a soft whistle pulled the dog out of his search. Before Percy could allow his tensed shoulders to relax, he caught sight of the one who was calling the dog, and he lost his breath.

"Max—come here. Hey, come on… what are you doing, boy?"

Percy had never been so stricken in his life. He found himself unable to breath, his throat and lungs closing in on him as his body flushed with heat. In his stomach, little guppies swam around, and despite the heat within him, he shivered.

Her voice was beautiful, that much could be said. It was like a goddess, smooth and melodic and much like the songs of the sea, with a touch of an exotic sound that he could never get enough of. He had only heard land-dwellers once or twice, but he recognized the accent. He loved it.

He was sure his neck would hurt in the morning, but he found himself unable to care as he caught sight of her face. She was grinning, kneeling down as she petted the animal, her teeth bright against the night. Her skin was tanned from the sun, unlike his, that could never quite color despite his hardest attempts. Her hair was blonde, and in the most beautiful princess curls he had ever seen. Her eyes were a dark grey, shadowed as she ducked her head away from him. He wanted to protest, tell her to speak again or perhaps just look at him, but he kept his mouth shut. It was dangerous enough as it was.

"Hey, there, Percy. What are you up to?"

Nearly falling from his spot high up above the surface, Percy's heart thudded in his chest. "_Nico_," he whispered, half-scandalized, half-infuriated. "Shut up! They'll hear you."

"Ah, I get it, I get it. We're being intrepidatious—we're out to discover!"

Percy clenched his jaw, the muscles twitching as his hand snatched Nico's beak, keeping it shut. "Nico, I've never seen a human this close before. I mean—_oh_, she's very beautiful, isn't she?"

Nico fluffed his wings slightly, "I dunno, she looks kind of hairy and slobbery to me."

Percy couldn't help but roll his eyes at his friend's obliviousness. "Not _that_ one, the one playing the snarfblat."

Before Nico could speak again, the stiff man who had refused to dance stood straighter, shouting out for silence. The men, the crew, paused their dancing and the music, watching silently as he spoke.

"It is now my honor and privilege to present our esteemed Princess Annabeth with a very special, very expensive, very large birthday present."

_Annabeth_, Percy mouthed silently, watching closely again. She rubbed the back of her neck, her cheeks reddening, "Ah, Chiron… you shouldn't have."

"I know," he replied, smiling. "Happy birthday, Annabeth!" His fingers curled around the cloth covering the large birthday present, pulling the satin sheet and revealing a large, gaudy statue of the princess herself. The animal, Max, growled at the thing.

Annabeth blinked, leaning against the wooden railing of the ship, an action that made Percy more than a little nervous. "Gee, Chiron. It's, er… it's… it's really _something_…"

"Yes, I commissioned it myself. Of course, I had hoped it would be a wedding present, but…"

Annebeth let out a sigh, kicking herself off of the side and making her way over to the man. Her expression was fond, but tired, her shoes clacking against the floor. "Chiron, please don't start. Look, you're still not upset because I didn't fall for the prince of Glauerhaven, are you?" There was a moment of silence, and she continued, "Because his character was _not_ gentlemanly—"

"Oh, Annabeth… it isn't me alone. The entire kingdom wants to see you settled down with the right man."

Annabeth patted his shoulder, her thin fingers smoothing over the fabric of the older man's sleeve, "Well, he's out there somewhere. I just… haven't found him yet," she said with a lost shrug.

"Well, perhaps you haven't been looking hard enough."

She shook her head, her curls, which were pulled back, swaying slightly in the wind. "Believe me when I say this… when I find him, I'll know. There won't be a doubt, it'll be just—bam! It'll hit me, like lightning." Almost as though her call summoned it, lightning flashed in the distance, thunder rumbling along with it.

A few sailors looked worriedly at each other, a few backing off of their rested positions and onto their feet, nervously edging towards the sails. The waves and the wind picked up, and someone shouted the order for them to all get back to work.

"Whoa!" Nico said from beside him, and Percy had nearly forgotten he was there. His wings got caught in the wind, and Percy grabbed him by his feet to keep him from spiraling into the sea. "The wind is all of a sudden on a move here."

Percy nodded to him and let go of his feet, watching as he balanced himself despite the wind, soaring up into the sky. He's done this before, Percy didn't have to worry. Shifting from his spot, Percy let go of the ledge, diving back into the sea. The last thing he needed was to be crushed as the ship sank. Moments later, the side skidded into a large rock. Everything, for Percy, was slow, but fast, and incredibly fuzzy.

Most of the crew abandoned the ship, as Percy saw from right below the surface. He stayed a distance away, casually lifting his head above to water to get a clearer view of what was going on. His eyes darted, looking for Annabeth, whose hair was loose now, whipping behind her in the wind. The ship was in flames, something he recognized from one of his paintings. Even at the distance he was at, he could feel the warmth.

Percy's eyes widened as Annabeth went back to save her animal Max. He watched, helpless, as the dog was saved but she disappeared under the water. He knew it wasn't the ways of his people, but he couldn't help himself as he dived under, too, swimming to her at record speed, hauling her up from under her arms and to the surface, where she could breath.

In the distance, Percy could just barely hear her crew call out for her, but they were lost to the crashing tide, rumbling thunder, and pounding rain.

-xxx-

"Is she… is she dead?"

The sand was warm and, mostly, dry against Percy's skin. It stuck to his elbows and shoulders, but he didn't pay much attention to it as he looked down at Annabeth. He all but loomed over her, using his hand to prop himself up.

Nico padded through the sand, opening her eyelid and examined her carefully. "It's hard to say." He pressed his head to her chest, her dark shirt clinging to her skin. Percy was glad the beach was warm. He was used to cold waters, but apparently humans weren't.

"I can't… make out a heartbeat."

There was a tense silence, but Percy's eyes caught the up and down moving of her chest. "No, look! She's breathing." He sighed, relaxing slightly, falling against the sand and turning on his side to look at her. "She's so… gorgeous."

Percy watched as the tide shifted, the wind blowing the sea foam, the ocean spray lightly caressing his face. He hummed a long forgotten lullaby, both at peace, but also fighting an inner torment. He shouldn't be there, on land, with a _human_… but he couldn't make himself stop and pull away when everything was just so perfect.

Grover and Mr. D washed up onto the beach, quietly trying to usher Percy back into the water. He didn't move until he heard a familiar barking, and a male voice. Quickly, he moved from his spot, diving into the water. He hated that he was missing the warmth of the sand so quickly, but he hid, swimming and perching himself on a large rock meters away from the shore.

"Annabeth!" yelled out Chrion, quickening his pace to meet her, his hand resting on her shoulder blades as he helped her sit up. "You really delight in these sadistic strains on my nerves, don't you?"

She didn't answer, she only blinked, looking around the beach as if she had lost something. "A boy—rescued me. He was… humming… he had the most…. He…"

Chiron shook his head, his usually tied back hair falling shaggily. "Ah, Annabeth. I think you've swallowed a bit of too much sea water. Come on, Max." He helped her to her feet, helping her off of the beach and to the kingdom, the dog running happily around them.

Mr. D's voice brought Percy back to his own world and his own situation. "We have to forget this whole thing _ever_ happened. The sea king will never know. You won't tell him, I won't tell him. I will stay in one piece and I _won't_ be forced to babysit you forever."

Percy turned on his rock, his back hitting the cool wetness of it. He was slowly sliding down, but he still stared up at the sky, still humming the tune he had on the beach. Oh, he knew he was in trouble. Things wouldn't turn out well, but somehow, he was half-convinced he could make everything work out, despite his conditions.

-xxx-

The two shadowy eels slipped back into their chamber, slithering around their master's sides. He was joyously laughing, his head thrown back as he saw the scene through his orb in front of him.

"Oh, no, no, no, no! I can't stand it—this is _too_ easy. The child is in love with a _human_. And not just any human—a _princess_! His daddy'll love that." He moved around the room, thoughtfully tapping at his chin. "King Poseidon's headstrong, lovesick son _would_ make an excellent addition to my garden…"


	5. Chapter Four

Percy didn't share a room with his brother anymore, and he was more than thankful for that. He and Triton didn't exactly get along, and even when he was little, he was always hated and he couldn't figure out why. Still, even Triton noticed how oddly Percy was acting when he called him out from his room.

Percy swam out, unconsciously smiling and humming under his breath, even brushing his hair for once in his life. Behind Triton was their father, and he muttered to him, "Oh, he's got it bad."

"What?" asked Posiedon in the same hushed voice, "What has he got?"

"It's obvious—Percy's in love."

"Percy? _In love_?"

-xxx-

"All right, so far, so good," said Mr. D, who was reclining in the sand, eyes shut. He looked to be calm and at peace, with the exception of his claws tapping nervously against the ground. "I don't think the king knows, but it's going to be hard keeping something like this a secret for long."

Percy was barely paying attention, lying against a rock, nearly floating against it. It was cool against his back, but he barely skimmed it, more focused on the flowers than anything else. He picked at them, examining them between his fingers, "Do you think she would like these?" he asked, though mostly to himself, picking a few more. "What about these?"

"Percy," Mr. D snapped, "stop talking crazy."

"I have to see her," he insisted, "_tonight_. Nico knows where she lives! I'll swim up to her castle, then I'll have Grover splash around to get her attention, and then I'll give he—"

"No. Down here is where you _live_, Percy. Listen to me, _Percy_," Mr. D began, "the human world is a _mess_. Life under the surface is better than anything they have up there."

"Are you just saying that so I don't do anything that my father doesn't approve of?" asked Percy distantly, and though he was sure that was the case, Mr. D continued.

"You may think that it's better up there, but let me tell you—it isn't. The sand is hot and though the seaweed may seem greener at the reefs, it's always the lighting. The humans are loud and smelly and _fish-eaters_—" he turned around to face Percy, but stopped short when he realized that the boy had swum off during his rant, nowhere to be seen.

Cursing the child under his breath, Mr. D moved from his spot burrowed under the sand, only to be interrupted by a familiar little seahorse.

"Dionysus! Dionysus! I've been looking all over for you. I've got an urgent message from the sea king."

Suddenly chilled, Mr. D inclined his head, "The sea king?"

"He wants to see you right away—something about Percy."

Mr. D nodded, watching as the seahorse quickly swam away, frozen still. He couldn't help the nagging feeling at the back of his mind, the feeling that the king _knew_.

-xxx-

"Now, who could the lucky mermaid be?" mused Poseidon, who was casually reclining in his throne. To his side, his trident was locked securely in a large seashell, where nobody but his own blood could retrieve it.

The king blinked when the realized when Mr. D was in the doorway, and he straightened, "Come in."

Walking stiffly, Mr. D made his way into the room, thinking to himself that he had to remain calm. Making a drunken spectacle of himself would only get him into trouble, which was more than what he could afford.

"Now, Dionysus… I'm concerned about Percy. Have you noticed he's been acting… _peculiar_ lately?" asked the king, a smile on his face. It unnerved Mr. D.

"Peculiar?"

"You know, how he's… wandering about. Daydreaming, humming to himself… are you saying you haven't noticed?"

"Er…"

"Dionysus…" the king said teasingly, but a tone of warning hid underneath his honey voice.

"Hm?"

"I know you've been keeping something from me…"

"Keeping… something?"

"About Percy."

"Percy?"

"In love?"

There was a moment. It was silent, echoing off of the beautiful pearl walls, and it passed all too quickly, Mr. D blurting out his quick explanation, "I tried to stop him, sir. He wouldn't _listen_—I told him humans were messy, they always are, but—"

"Humans?" the king asked confusedly. The second time he asked, his voice was full of anger, confusion, and an irritated torment. "Who said anything about _humans_?"

-xxx-

Percy and Grover were nearly experts at slipping in and out of their secret cave. It was darker, later than their usual time, but they had each dip and crevice in the rock memorized.

"Grover, why can't you just tell me what this is all about?"

"You'll see," said Grover excitedly, "it's a surprise."

Light suddenly filled the cavern, and Percy gasped in awe. "It—I—_Grover_."

The statue filled practically the entire bottom center of the small cave, but Percy didn't care. It was like her in every aspect—the way her hair curled, her eyelashes against her skin, her thin, but confident, stature. His fingers ghosted over the cold, stony cheek before he turned to his friend.

"It's… the best. Thanks, Grover, it looks just like her… it even has her _eyes_."

He swam around the statue, twirling and taking its hand, laughing to himself. "Why—yes, I would like you to run away with me, Princess. Yes, please take my hand in marriage. Yes, I know it's all so _sudden_, but—" he turned around again, only to catch the cold and angry gaze of his father.

"I—_Dad_!" he wasn't able to say much, his blood ran cold and shock ran through him like a tremor in ice water.

"I consider myself to be a reasonable man, Percy. I set certain rules, and I expect those ruled to be obeyed." The king's voice was grave and low when he spoke to his son, like one wrong word would set him off.

"But—"

"—is it true you saved a human from drowning?"

"Yes, but I _had_ to—"

"Contact between the human world and the mer-world is _strictly_ forbidden. It's against our way of life, to _save_ a human from drowning… Percy, you know this! Everybody knows this!"

"She would have _died_, Father." Percy's attempts to get his father to listen to was pathetic and futile.

"One less human to worry about, then!"

"You don't even _know_ her!"

"Know her? I don't have to know her. They're the same! Spineless, savage, harpooning, fish-eaters. They're incapable of any feeling—"

"Father…" Percy said loudly, boldly, despite his shrinking confidence, squaring his shoulders, "I _love_ her."

Poseidon all but took Percy by his shoulders and throttled him, "No… have you lost your senses completely? She's human, and _you are not_!"

"I don't care," he replied, his words and tone passionately furious.

"By the gods help me, Percy. I am going to get through to you, and if this is the only way… then so be it." Poseidon's normally cool blue trident glowed gold, power blasting and destroying Percy's most valued things. All of his games and money in the palace meant less to him than these old, broken human things did, and as his father destroyed them, his heart broke.

"Father! Stop, no… please—_stop it_!" Percy grabbed his father's arm, only to be thrown back against the wall of the cavern with such a force that the walls shook.

Poseidon, in his fit of rage, destroyed the statue in one last blast, and stormed through the exit without saying another word. Mr. D followed behind him, looking back over his shoulder as though he wanted to say something, but thought better of it and followed the sea king out.

He didn't cry, as he was emotionally drained. He was heartbroken and saddened and furious and irritated and in shock, all at once. He wasn't sure what to do, even as he took a large chunk of the statue between his hands and stared at it.

There was a shuffle from the entrance, and Percy said dully, not looking from the piece of stone, "Go away."

"Poor child," an unfamiliar and eerie voiced answered.

"Poor, sweet child," another continued, the voice almost the same pitch as the other. Percy looked up, seeing two dark and completely identical eels.

"He has a very serious problem."

"If only there were something we could do…"

"But there is something."

"What?" demanded Percy. "Who are _you_?"

"Don't be scared."

"Who said anything about scared?"

"We represent someone who can help you."

"Someone who can make all your dreams come true."

Together, they said, "Just imagine—"

"—you and your princess—"

"—_together forever_."

"I don't understand," he answered dumbly, looking between the two with wide and wet green eyes.

"Hades has great powers."

"The _sorcerer_?" Percy gasped, trying to back up further into the wall but he was unable to. "Why—I can't, no. That's not… get out of here! Leave me alone!"

"Suit yourself."

"It was only a suggestion."

On their way out, one flicked over a piece of Princess Annabeth's broken face towards the tips of Percy's fins. Anger and desperation filled him as he looked at the face, "Wait," he called out, his voice cracking with emotion.

Both turned around, "_Yes_?"


End file.
